Hickory Asset Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,607 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,000. Microsoft makes up 1.7% of Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 11,624 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,900,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,242,074 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $945,034,000 after purchasing an additional 192,806 shares during the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $1,346,000. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,210,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $367.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.21. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.